DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.3462#0056
34 THE DURBAR
With a calm judicial air, beautiful to behold, he
chivied the unfortunate animal about until it was
thoroughly cowed and dispirited. Then as majesti-
cally as he had come he sailed away, his devoir
accomplished.
I was greatly struck, as we moved slowly along,
by the kindliness and gentleness of the natives.
In this dense mass of handsome dignified people
one felt curiously sordid and stupid and out of
place. This Durbar, with all its gorgeous pageantry
and native magnificence, seemed no show for the
Saxon. Its mere existence had been brought
about for the glorification of our most powerful
and splendid race; yet wherever one saw a
European in Delhi his presence jarred upon you.
You felt that he was a blot in an otherwise
harmonious whole. We are strong physically as
a nation, and it was marvellous to watch how an
Englishman jostled his way through the crowd
and forced himself in front of the natives; but it
was not a pretty spectacle. In the midst of a
sea of gorgeous colour, a rainbow crowd of slim,
graceful figures, with all the dignity of the East in
their bearing, this elbowing wedge-shaped form,
looking almost like a torpedo in its attitude of
violent determination, gave one a pang. As he
With a calm judicial air, beautiful to behold, he
chivied the unfortunate animal about until it was
thoroughly cowed and dispirited. Then as majesti-
cally as he had come he sailed away, his devoir
accomplished.
I was greatly struck, as we moved slowly along,
by the kindliness and gentleness of the natives.
In this dense mass of handsome dignified people
one felt curiously sordid and stupid and out of
place. This Durbar, with all its gorgeous pageantry
and native magnificence, seemed no show for the
Saxon. Its mere existence had been brought
about for the glorification of our most powerful
and splendid race; yet wherever one saw a
European in Delhi his presence jarred upon you.
You felt that he was a blot in an otherwise
harmonious whole. We are strong physically as
a nation, and it was marvellous to watch how an
Englishman jostled his way through the crowd
and forced himself in front of the natives; but it
was not a pretty spectacle. In the midst of a
sea of gorgeous colour, a rainbow crowd of slim,
graceful figures, with all the dignity of the East in
their bearing, this elbowing wedge-shaped form,
looking almost like a torpedo in its attitude of
violent determination, gave one a pang. As he